Engineering students at Rice University have adapted a heating element from a cooking device for disaster relief zones into a tool that can sterilize medical instruments in the developing world using the sun alone. The device features a super-insulated frame that holds a central steel tube, upon which rays from the sun are focused through use of a concave mirror. The tube heats and boils water into a high-pressure steam, which is used to then sterilize medical tools for safe use.

Rice University: “Capteur Soleil to capture attention at Eco-marathon”

[via Inhabitat]